Baby's First Easter

It's truly amazing how much more meaningful and special holiday's become when you have a child.  It makes you realize how much God loves us and what He sacrificed for us to have eternal life with Him in Heaven.  I am so grateful that the tomb was empty and that our Savior LIVES! What a sweet reunion it will be when we meet Him face to face.

Caroline had a wonderful first Easter! We spent it in Birmingham with our families. It was a bit of a challenge traveling 3 1/2 hours with a 4 week old but we managed! We had a delicious lunch at Shoal Creek Country Club with Alan's family followed by an afternoon of relaxing and visiting with my family Sunday afternoon.  Nothing more precious than time spent with the ones who love your baby almost as much as you do :)  

We loved meeting the Easter bunny at lunch! She didn't even cry at how creepy he was. Just wait until next year. 

My mother-in-law always has the cutest holiday decor around the house.

The Easter Bunny hopped by and left our sweet girl some treats.  She was so excited about getting an Easter basket that she wore herself out and fell asleep :) 

Side Note: This was not her original Easter dress. We had a major blow-out during Easter lunch and our Easter dress did not survive.  Luckily, my MIL had been saving this dress for Caroline to get pictures in at some point.  It was her's when she was a baby.  It fit perfect and made for the most precious Easter gown! Thanks Lollie! 

After lunch, we headed over to my sister's house to visit with my family! Always so cute at her house!

The good ole' Easter Bunny didn't forget about Mommy and Daddy! 

We have five generations on my mother's side of the family. My Granny (great-grandmother) turned 93 the day after Easter. Such a blessing to have these women in my life. We have four generations on my father's and will have to get that picture soon! 

Love these little girls so much! Can't wait for baby brother to join the family!  

Hope you had a "Hoppy" Easter! 

Happy ONE Month!

Caroline, 

      It's been one month since you stole our hearts and I cannot remember a time before you were here.  Now I can relate to all the mothers that warned me not to blink because you would be grown before I could take a deep breath. So true. I don't know where those long first days and nights went but now it seems that they went by in a flash.  I am trying to remember each and every sound and move you make as I will cherish these first few weeks with you for the rest of my life.  We have had lots of mommy/daughter time since daddy has been working a lot. I have loved everyday with you. You have such a content, sweet spirit. I have never been more proud of anything in my whole life. I could stare at your sweet face, listen to your sweet sounds, and kiss the top of your perfect head all day long. I never knew that I could love something so fiercely. You are my girl and I thank God for you.

                                                                                                                                         Love, Mommy

What you love at one month: paci, being rocked/held, eating, sleeping, stroller/car rides, bouncy seat with music, looking around the room,  bath time, stretching, someone talking/singing to you.

What you do not love at one month: being swaddled (recently decided you don't like your arms being strapped down), tummy time, getting your diaper changed, getting your nose cleaned out (who would). 

Below are some photos of your fourth week....

First trip to the grocery store with Mommy! You slept the whole time.

Catching sweet smiles

Sleeping Beauty

Sweet snuggles with Granmomma

You love car rides!

Biggest yawns

Those eyes....

Trying out a different paci, but you prefer the green wub-a-nub

Mommy torturing you and putting you in your Easter basket that was hers when she was a little girl

Beautiful baby girl I could eat you in one bite!

First month of life memories I never want to forget.. 
~Your quick entrance into this world that took us all by surprise
~How tiny you were, your features were so dainty
~How your skin was so soft and how fresh it smelled
~How you moved your hands constantly
~How you played with your tongue
~How your breath smelled so good
~How long your fingers and toes were. Grandaddy said you were going to be a piano player
~How your eyes are as deep blue as the ocean
~Your blonde hair that took us all by surprise
~Crying in the hospital about you not looking like me during a hormonal breakdown, so silly
~Feeling like Christmas morning every time the nurses would bring you back in our room in your bassinet
~Hearing you cry for the first time and then continue to cry for your first 30 minutes in this world
~Seeing your daddy hold you for the first time and thinking that I could never love two people more
~Meeting your big cousin for the first time
~How scared I was on our ride home from the hospital and how I said a prayer for God to protect us
~Entering our house for the first time with you and really starting to feel like a family
~All the wonderful meals cooked for us and friends that visited us the first few weeks at home
~Having Grandmamma and Lollie help out so much during those first few weeks
~Being so sick right after we got home from the hospital and thinking that Daddy was my hero for taking care of us both, even starting an IV on mommy for fluids and nausea medicine
~Feeling so proud of you for eating so well and gaining weight so fast
~How you loved to stretch out on your changing table and how big your yawns were
~How you grunt all the time
~How your eyes would roll around and you would smile as you fell asleep
~How we got so tickled that you "toot" and burp like a grown man
~How content of a baby you were
~Sleeping through the night almost instantly except one feeding at 3am
~How you loved to listen to the running bath water while mommy took a bath
~When you pooped on your brand new blanket during your newborn pictures
~Your huge blow out all over your Easter dress in the middle of lunch at the country club
~How you shook your head back and forth so fast when trying to get your paci
~How perfectly your head was shaped and how your hair curled at the crown of your head
~How every coo made my heart want to explode with gratitude for your little life

Cousin Time

Earlier this week my mom, sister and niece came to visit for a few days. It was so much fun having them here and I loved having the extra set of hands around the house! Anna Scott is the best big cousin and interacted so well with baby CC.  She sang the sweetest lullabies, read her books, and gave lots of hugs and kisses. She is getting a baby brother in June and we cannot wait to meet him!! She will be such a great big sister and such a huge help for her mommy and daddy! 

We went on our first shopping outing while they were here. Caroline Cate slept the entire time and it was great getting out of the house and enjoying the beautiful spring weather!  I see many more mommy/daughter shopping trips in our future. 

We stopped by Pet Co and let Anna Scott see the animals (except the reptiles, we didn't venture down those aisles.)  She loved seeing the birds, goldfish, hamsters, and kittens.

And then we had to make one last stop. Anna Scott cannot come and visit without a trip to the park! This was CC's first time to go to the park and she wasn't very amused. It's only a matter of time. 

We loved our time together and look forward to many more visits until we finally get to move back home! Only 14 more months :) 

Third Week

We wrapped up our third week with baby girl a few days ago and we continue to be completely smitten by every little sound she makes. That being said, I'm going to have a moment of honesty here and say that  week three was rough. No sugar-coating it. However,  Caroline Cate wasn't the problem.....it was mommy.  I have been pretty sick for the past week and it is no small feat trying to take care of a newborn (even an easy newborn) while feeling under the weather. Alan fortunately had almost two weeks off right after she was born but now he is having to work extra to make up for his time off.  So for the past few days and the next week he will be gone from 6:30am to 8:00pm.  Luckily, I have the best mom in the world and after one phone call saying that I was running fever and my level of exhaustion had reached it's limit, she was on her way no questions asked.  Even though she is a very long 5 hour drive away, she still hops in the car without even a second thought to come help. I couldn't have made it these past three weeks without her. No question. Thanks Mom! 

CC is the best baby and I am so so thankful because with how sick I have been the past week I don't know what I would have done with a fussy baby on top of my illness.  At three weeks old she has already put herself on a schedule and she loves her sleep almost as much as her mommy does. She takes her nighttime bottle at 9pm, sleeps 9p-3:30a, takes another bottle, then is out again until 8:30a.  Every night before we go to bed I always wonder if this will be the night that things change but we have been going strong on this schedule for about a week now.  Keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't change. She is still sleeping in our room but if she keeps sleeping so well we may transition her into her crib at one month. Tears will be shed. At three weeks she LOVES her paci, being rocked, being swaddled at night, her bottles, making the cutest grunting noises, someone singing to her (Mary Poppins tunes are her favorite), listening to running water while I take a bath, stroller rides, and car rides. She fills our heart with oh so much joy! 

Not the biggest fan of tummy time. 

 

Spending some time with daddy before he heads into work.  I love seeing him interact with her. It's so sweet. And I must admit, she is his little mini-me. She looks so much like him! Good thing he's cute :) 

So very thankful for all of Lollie's help! She was able to stay with us for a few nights while Daddy was working. We love you! 

She had her first real bath in our "spa" tub and she couldn't make up her mind if she liked it or not. She has had two more baths since her first one and seemed to enjoy them a little more.  

Happy Three Weeks, Baby Girl! 

Happy THREE Weeks!

Sweet babe turned three weeks old on March 25, 2015! Falling more in love every day.